Asia soccer organizers confirm new broadcast deal for China

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — The Asian Football Confederation has terminated its broadcasting contract in China with LeSports and awarded the rights to China Sports Media for the remainder of the 2017-2020 commercial cycle.

The sport's continental governing body said CSM, which already has the rights for China's domestic league, had secured the rights for AFC-sanctioned competitions including World Cup qualifiers, the Asian Cup and the AFC Champions League.

The AFC said it "no alternative but to terminate its contract with Le TV, which had been signed in August 2015."

"We look forward to working with CSM in the next few years as they are committed to providing the best and most comprehensive coverage of the AFC competitions for the tens of millions of Asian football fans in China," AFC general secretary Windsor John said.

The AFC provided no details of the new deal, or reason for the cancellation of the previous contract.